Usually the bank settles the tax. The Anlage KAP is for the years in which it could not know everything.
The Anlage KAP is mandatory when investment income arrived without German withholding, above all with foreign brokerage accounts. It pays off voluntarily when money comes back: an unused saver's allowance, the Günstigerprüfung at a tax rate below 25%, or loss offsetting across banks (request the loss certificate by 15 December). The Günstigerprüfung can only lower your tax.
Most investment income in Germany is settled by the bank's withholding: the Abgeltungsteuer is named for the fact that it settles the matter. Still, there are years in which the Anlage KAP (the tax return's investment-income annex) pays off, and a few cases in which it is mandatory.
The good news: once you know the four or five typical constellations, you recognise your own year within minutes.
The Anlage KAP is not a standing obligation for investors. It is a tool for the years in which the bank could not know everything.
In these cases investment income must go into the tax return, because no (or too little) tax was withheld:
A foreign brokerage account takes none of the tax logic away: the Vorabpauschale (advance lump-sum tax), partial exemption and loss offsetting all apply just the same, only you do the arithmetic yourself. For many, that is the hidden price of the cheap foreign broker.
More common than the obligation is the voluntary filing, because money comes back:
It is mandatory above all when investment income arrived without German withholding, typically with foreign accounts and brokers, and for church-tax payers with a blocking notice. For foreign funds without German custody the supplementary Anlage KAP-INV applies.
When money comes back: with an unused saver's allowance, with a personal tax rate below 25% via the Günstigerprüfung (favourable-assessment check, Section 32d(6) EStG), and with losses and gains at different banks. The check can only lower your tax, never raise it.
The Verlustbescheinigung (loss certificate) must be requested from the bank by 15 December of the year. Only with it can losses at one bank be offset against gains at another through the tax return; without it, the bank carries the loss forward internally into the next year.
Your bank's annual tax statement (Jahressteuerbescheinigung) is the source of almost every figure; the lines of the Anlage KAP mirror it.
| Constellation | KAP needed? | Typical outcome |
|---|---|---|
| One account, exemption order fits | No | Nothing to do |
| Allowance unused or badly split | Voluntary | Refund |
| Marginal rate below 25% | Voluntary (Günstigerprüfung) | Refund |
| Losses and gains at different banks | Voluntary + loss certificate | Offsetting, refund |
| Foreign brokerage account | Mandatory (KAP, possibly KAP-INV) | Payment or refund |
Net Amount
EUR 3.945,00Eff. Tax Rate: 21,10%
Kernaussagen
Your tax year in view
Investboard collects investment income, allowance usage and loss pots across all accounts and shows whether the Anlage KAP is likely to pay off for your year.
Review your tax year →